Your Tender Charm
by ambiguously
Summary: Kylo has better things to do than run off after Rey when she gets into trouble.


written for thedevilchicken in the Maythe4thBeWithYou 2018 Fanworks Exchange

* * *

She's fighting again.

Kylo should be focusing on the datapad his insipid General has brought for his review. Troop movements. Plans for taking Coruscant and reestablishing the capital there. Intelligence reports on the whereabouts of the Resistance stragglers.

Dull. The reports are dull, and he is instead occupied with the thrum of adrenaline moving through Rey's body light years away as she brawls with her assailants. He can't see who she's fighting. If he could, he could track where she's gone rather than rely on this thread of connection pointing him in a line across vast distance. He can point out one gloved finger towards her, but direction without length is meaningless. A thousand stars stand between them, perhaps, and he knows nothing but the movement of her limbs and the difficult serenity of her mind. She preoccupies him, maddens him, intrigues him. The details of running the First Order are mind-numbing, and he often wishes he could strike them aside as so many toys. The bright flashes from Rey's mind are far more interesting.

"Supreme Leader?" Hux asks, maintaining a careful tone between obedience and hope that Kylo has lost the rest of his mind and can be similarly swept aside for Hux's own ambitions.

"Come back when you have something of interest to report. This minutiae tells me nothing." He throws the datapad to the floor. He ought to be making important decisions. The military details are irrelevancies that can be handled by underlings.

"Yes, sir," Hux says, again on this side of subordination before he leaves the room, privately seething to be dismissed. He hasn't given up his plans to kill Kylo and take his place, and they both know it. The only reason Kylo hasn't killed him is because he's sure the rest of the First Order upper ranks have their own designs on Hux's position. Kylo will let Hux keep track of a dozen enemies wearing the uniforms of allies if it means he himself only must keep watch on one.

His nearby enemy is dealt with for the moment. Kylo closes his eyes and listens in on the thoughts of his distant enemy. The rest of his mother's fractured group hates him of course, and would happily destroy him, but Mother is not his enemy and the others are irrelevant. Rey is the point of his focus, the stray musings she reveals to him and the thrilling intensity of her frequent battles. They have washed up on some dangerous shore.

Pirates. She is fighting pirates.

Kylo opens his eyes and pulls up a star chart. He draws a vector from where his ship floats in the jeweled night through the heart of the galaxy and past. Rey could be in the next system over. She could be in the Unknown Regions. She is not on Florrum, he can see by the path of their connection, but now he has a clearer vision. There are few systems where Rey would find herself fighting rogues and brigands as often as she has.

His finger traces the line of stars. There.

Kylo considers. He could send the full force of his fleet to this sector, knowing now where she is and thus where the last gasp of the Resistance is hiding. He could keep the knowledge to himself, tracking Rey as she scuttles from hideout to hideout, intercepting her at the right moment.

Pain lances through his body, sharp and unexpected. His gaze focuses before him, and he tenses, expecting treason. This is not his pain. Rey has been injured, a stabbing wound. She is losing consciousness.

He considers his options for a full minute, fifty full seconds longer than he has spent contemplating any plan before executing it for the last six years of his life. He has trouble seeing past the next turn in any road, but he knows where this one leads.

Kylo touches the communications panel on what passes for his throne, giving a quick glance around this room. It's dull anyway. "General Hux, I have received a vision from the Force. I am retiring to my sleeping chamber in order to meditate on the meaning. This may take hours or days to unravel. If I am disturbed for any reason, I will hold you personally responsible."

 _"Yes, Supreme Leader."_ Even across the commlink, Kylo can read him easily. He'll put his own plans into motion while he thinks Kylo is unaware. Something tiresome to deal with later. After he returns.

Escaping his own command ship is mildly diverting. A pleasing flush runs through him as he dodges cameras and guards alike. He supposes he could stride confidently through the corridors. He is the Supreme Leader. This is more fun. 'Fun' was disapproved of by Supreme Leader Snoke, and was hardly encouraged back in the days of his Jedi training, or even before that when he was expected to adhere his concentration to more mundane studies. The last time he felt this kind of simple pleasure was when he fought the Crimson Guards, no other thought than the joy of battle and the ineffable kinship he felt for Rey during those brief, thrilling moments.

He cannot hear her thoughts now. She's alive and she's in danger. Everything else, even the fun, is irrelevant.

His own ship will be too obvious. He selects a shuttle, bemusing the guard outside and deftly disabling the trackers within the ship before filing what should sound like an ordinary flight plan. Before anyone has noticed he's taken a ship, long before anyone will try to disturb his empty quarters, Kylo Ren flings himself out into the starscape.

Flight is freedom. He slouches into the pilot's seat, enjoying the feel of the controls under his hands and letting himself take the shuttle through a few maneuvers before he sets the navicomp. In another life, in another universe, the man he could have been is an ace pilot, a reckless daredevil just as famous as the other legends of the sky. In a closer universe, the Supreme Leader of the First Order is back aboard his own command carrier planning his domination over the galaxy.

In this universe, Kylo bursts into hyperspace.

The 'meditation' cover story is ridiculous. He hasn't successfully achieved the level of focused surrender he needs to commune with the Force since before the last night at the Jedi school. He has no hope of finding that peace now. Instead he closes his eyes and rests, letting himself gather strength for what's to come. The small piece of his consciousness that can escape to a higher level is dragged down by the surety that he will have to attack Rey's friends as well as her captors if he is to rescue her. That will delay him.

He's jolted out of his half-reverie with a hot surge of pain. Rey is awake now. At first he thinks the pirates are tormenting her. A spike of refreshing anger warms him. But no. her confusion echoes through their connection. She's in pain and she is being treated. She is a prisoner, he's certain, but one being kept alive and made healthy.

They know who or what she is, and neither is good. There are bounties out for known members of the Resistance of course. That's standard practice. Kylo hadn't cancelled the bounties. He hasn't thought about it until now. Even if the pirates aren't planning on collecting with the First Order, they've seen she's Force sensitive. There's always someone who wants a pet Jedi, and rarity has only driven up the price. They won't harm her, no, but they will deliver her to certain doom for a bag of credits.

"I won't allow that," he thinks, sending the thought to her. He's met with her anger, and the same sullen blend of emotions she always feels regarding him. Rey wants to hate him. Kylo would be happier if he could hate her. They both fail miserably every time they try. "Tell me what system you're in."

He's met with solid refusal and an abrupt cutoff in her mind as she slams the psychic door between them. It won't separate them long. It never does.

Kylo can hear the ghostly shadows of Rey's thoughts by the time he's within a few star systems of her location. Without her help, he's had to rely on outside information. There are outlaws in this sector, and Rey is somewhere along the line of this path. All he must do is follow the trail until he finds the world or the ship.

But it's a far more familiar ship he finds first as he comes out of hyperspace.

The Falcon will have caught him on sensors, even as far as he is. They'll scan his transponder signature, determine he's flying a First Order vessel, and either shoot or flee. His own instincts tell him to do the same. Instead they watch each other.

His mother is aboard. She can sense him.

There's a hail, his comm system lighting up, startling him. He almost doesn't answer. He almost flies away.

Kylo flicks open the comm and waits.

Carrying a lifetime of hurt and regret, his mother asks, _"What do you want now?"_

"Where have they taken her?"

There's a much longer pause at the other end. He's sure the microphone has been muted, that they are arguing in the cramped cockpit all together. Mother and Chewbacca will disagree. Her sniveling pet Dameron will be shouting not to trust Kylo. Even the traitor may have found his way into the fray, demanding their first priority be Rey's safety. Kylo frowns, picturing this. He loathes FN-2187 yet the traitor is the only member of the Resistance Kylo can rely on to place Rey's safety at the forefront.

He opens the comm from his end and grits his teeth as he recalls Rey's name for the traitor. "I agree with Finn." That will set off another round of arguments, only the barest hint of which echo through the conflicted feelings he senses in his mother now.

 _"Can you find her?"_ comes the answer. FN-2187. Of course.

Kylo considers a host of sarcastic answers, all of which will start a fight. He'd like almost nothing more but time is short. "Yes."

 _"Fine,"_ says FN-2187, and says the coordinates. The shout behind him is cut off as the comm closes again. Kylo taps the coordinates into the navicomm, spends half a second hoping he isn't being shot into a star, and engages the hyperdrive.

He arrives in the system with the low line of her thoughts inside his brain. She's focused on a task so intently she doesn't notice or doesn't care he's listening. There are three planetoids that could serve as a base of operations for a major criminal group and five more that would suffice for a small band. Then it's simply a matter of following Rey's mind.

He lands well out of range of the pirates' sensors and trudges the rest of the way on foot. He's got a breathing apparatus to help with the thin atmosphere, and a second for Rey once he retrieves her. Where they go after is open for debate, and he finds that his pulse jumps pleasantly as he anticipates their argument. She'll demand Kylo return her to the Resistance. She'll try to convince him to join her. He will counter that the First Order is far more powerful, and the Resistance is futile. He will point out Rey will be far better off at his side ruling the galaxy than she is scraping by in constant flight.

Warmed by these thoughts, he reaches the hideout. He kills the first guard easily, hiding the body around the corner of the building out of sight. This gains him access cards and the man's commlink, and an odd, unfamiliar twinge of guilt. Rey's influence, no doubt.

Once inside the building, he keeps to the shadows. She's not far. Kylo doesn't tell her he's coming for her.

He turns down a corridor. Rey is running at him from the other end. Her face twists into a sea of complicated emotions as she pelts into him and pushes past. He's left with an echo of warmth and the tingle of her body next to his for a split second. Before he can process any of this, Rey hisses, "This way!"

They're chased by blaster fire. Kylo instantly turns and ignites his lightsaber, deflecting the bolts easily. "We don't have to run."

"We really do," Rey says, grabbing his shoulder and tugging.

He's about to shrug off her hand before he registers the low, thumping noise following the pirates around the corner. He sees a huge shape filling the corridor, and far more appendages than any creature has a right to. Without speaking, he turns to follow Rey away from the monster.

One long tentacle lashes out, grabs his foot, and sends him to the floor. His lightsaber manages to slice once before the creature smashes him into a wall and everything goes black.

* * *

Kylo wakes up, head aching, ribs worse. He's on a hard surface, and his arms are bound behind him. He reaches out the with Force, sensing everything around him. Rey is here. They are in a cell. He groans and moves to a sitting position, discovering as he does that his feet are also bound. Rey glares at him, but he can sense her relief that his concussion wasn't fatal. She's bruised everywhere he can see.

He considers and discards a dozen statements as his vision clears fully and his jaw consents to work, no matter how rattled his teeth are.

He finds that he only cares about one question. "Did they hurt you?"

She blinks at him. "What?"

"You're injured. Did the pirates hurt you?"

She rubs her face. "The lorshina dragged us both back here."

"The thing with the tentacles?"

"Yes."

He tests what muscles he can. Nothing appears to be more than superficially damaged. His lightsaber is gone. So are the items he stole from the dead guard.

Rey closes her eyes and wriggles. She's testing her bonds. Ropes, he feels, testing his own. "Move closer." She sees his meaning and turns away from him. Pressing back to back, his fingers can reach the knots of her bindings. Had the pirates used regular binders, they'd have to try unlocking them with the Force. His labors now feel far more intimate, stroking against her fingers and wrists as he tries to untie her. They are both remembering the moment they managed to touch through their strange bond.

"Yours are looser. Let me try." Rey takes over, her strong, thin fingers less clumsy than his on the tight knots holding him in place. They've fought together. They've fought each other. Now they must sit here close enough to feel one another's warmth as Rey struggles until Kylo feels his bonds loosen. "Got it," she says with pride.

He twists, pulling a wrist free as the rope burns over his skin. The loop slides easily off his other hand.

For a moment, they watch each other. He's free. She's not. He could leave her here. He could carry her out of here as she struggles and take her back to his ship. A galaxy of possibilities stretches before him, and he knows Rey can see him contemplating them all in the time it takes for them each to draw breath.

She hates him. She cares for him. She wants to believe he is more than he's proven to be thus far.

Kylo can deal with Rey's anger. He has no defense against her misplaced faith in him. He drops his eyes and turns his attention to the ropes around her wrists. Now that he has both hands free and can see, it's easy enough to free her. Then they untie their feet.

"How did you escape before?"

"I tricked the guard. They won't make that mistake again." She sighs. "Why are you even here?"

"I came to rescue you."

She turns and stares at him incredulously. He isn't sure whether to expect gratitude or sarcasm. He receives silence instead. Even though he can often read her mind, Rey manages to surprise him.

"I told you to stay away."

"I'm not good at taking orders. Ask anyone."

She laughs, a short, glad sound in this dark cell. "I know." The smile on her face isn't quite for him, isn't quite about him save at his expense, but he enjoys it anyway. They can be enemies again tomorrow. He'll take a smile from this woman today.

Rey looks at the walls of their cell. "Do you know any Jedi tricks that will get us out of this?"

"You're the Jedi."

"You offered to teach me."

Kylo turns to the walls and closes his eyes. He can sense the pirates moving around in the hideout. The two of them are in an interior room. This wall leads to an empty room, which leads to a corridor. "We can blast the wall down together. If they send that creature after us again, we'll have a problem."

Rey looks up. "What's above us?"

"The roof," he says dismissively. This is a low building with only one story. She stares at him. "Ah."

Technically they do not have to hold hands for this. Kylo doesn't tell Rey that. Their minds already in synch, they reach out with their powers together. He taps into the well of anger he uses to fuel his power, and senses that she is reaching into a different place inside herself. She's thinking about her friends, about the feeling of someone embracing her with relief and joy. Her powers come from joy.

Astonishing.

The ceiling bursts away from them, ripping free with a loud scream of metal. "Go," Kylo says, and he uses his powers to propel his jump up. Rey lands beside him. They take off together, running across the roof of the building as alarms sound beneath them. They jump off the edge, rolling as they land, and Kylo heads towards where he left his ship as Rey follows. Behind them, the roar of the pirates' pet lorshina gives them all the impetus they need to run faster.

"How far away is the ship?"

"Far enough."

The creature gains on them in bounds. Kylo stops and turns. It's just as menacing out here in the wilderness as it was in the shadows of the base. He pushes out with his powers, and beside him Rey does the same. They send the monster hurtling back.

Then they run.

His ship is ready for liftoff as soon as he slides into the pilot's seat. Rey slams the hatch closed while the lorshina barrels towards them. The ship shudders as it crashes its bulk against the hull.

Kylo lets the easy familiarity of a takeoff routine calm him. He knows how to do this. He's been flying since he was five years old.

They're in space before they speak to each other again. Kylo plays with the navicomp, plugging in various destinations and clearing them again before running the calculations. He doesn't look at Rey as she says, "We should rejoin the Resistance."

"We could return to the First Order. They won't have noticed I've left yet." He imagines the look on Hux's face when he comes into Kylo's quarters and sees Rey sitting there.

"Ben."

"I hate it when you call me that."

"No, you don't."

His eyes turn from the navicomp to her face. He can feel the hope inside her. He came for her when she needed him without question or delay. He will always come for her when she calls.

It doesn't matter which one of them leans in. They are so attuned neither of them can tell. All that matters is the taste of her mouth against his, sweet and wonderful and full of promise. Every day could be like this. If he goes with her. If he turns himself in to her friends to accept their judgement for all his sins. If she goes with him instead.

"I could make you a queen, you know."

There's half a sob in her voice as she replies, "Then I'd be as unhappy as you are."

She pulls away from him and sets the navicomp herself. He doesn't argue as she engages the hyperdrive, sending them back where he last saw the _Falcon_. The trip doesn't take long. Kylo would like to try kissing her again. Rey stays in her own seat, staring at the blue cascading around them.

"Don't fire," she says over the comm as soon as they are within range. "We're going to dock."

He settles his ship next to the other, engaging the airlock. "Go. Or stay. You know the Resistance will be destroyed."

"Come with me. We can defeat the First Order if you are on our side. Please."

He turns away from her, listening as her feet make their way to the airlock, feeling as she moves away from him. They will flee from this position now that he knows their location. Tomorrow, he will be chasing her again, fighting inside her mind, worried every moment about her life.

There's a word Chewbacca used to say around him when he was small. Kylo growls through it now because swearing in Shyriiwook is satisfying on a visceral level he can't explain.

This is a terrible mistake.

They are all going to die.

He swears again. Then he goes to the airlock and crosses over to join Rey aboard the other ship.

* * *

end


End file.
